NaLu Week: The Week of Love
by CierraTheAlaskanDragonSlayer
Summary: The title says it all. "You looooooooooove her!"
1. Gifts

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**NaLu Week: The Week of Love **

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Chapter 1:

_Gifts_

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He stared down at the small object in his hands. It seemed to burn through his fingers, to his stomach and out his toes (odd, considering his magic was that of _fire_).

He was never one to stop and think things through. But, for some reason unbeknownst to him, when it came to _her_, he couldn't seem to stop second-guessing himself. Should he really give this to her?

He didn't even understand _why_, or perhaps more accurately, _what _he was feeling, though. Don't get him wrong; he knew _of _love. He knew it was where two people cared deeply for each other, like best friends.

But that was the thing.

It didn't _feel_ like they were "_best friends_" anymore. It was different, awkward.

Was that love?

And every time she saw him she'd blush and stammer with her words. He'd smile and rub the back of his neck sheepishly, silently thinking how cute she was and then abruptedly stop because since when had Lucy been _cute_? Lucy was weird, and funny, and really, really weird. Not cute.

But the thought would still cross his mind every time he looked at her, along with how kind she was and how scary she could be, and just that she was _such a wonderful person_. She was selfless and didn't like to burden people with her problems (something that lately really irritated him because if she had any problems he would burn them to a crisp whether she asked or not just because when she was happy he was happy) and had such a tough-girl disposition about her. Sure, she freaked out on missions more times than anyone could really count and dressed really girly but she could be tough when she wanted to.

And she had so much faith and loyalty to her guild mates it was ridiculous. She didn't doubt anyone even for a second. Yes, she'd worry constantly about their well-beings, especially if they were fighting an enemy, but she never thought even for a _second _that they wouldn't be alright.

She wasn't very physically strong but she'd still jump in and get her hands dirty, maybe break a few bones here and there. She was so willing to do anything to help; it didn't matter to her if she was hurt in the process. She never ran away no matter how many times he'd scream at her to do so. She believed in them, in _him_.

So in short she was smart, thoughtful, crazy, loyal, and really weird.

But most of all she was _beautiful_. Not just in a physical sense, either, because her personality was one of the fiercest ones he'd ever met. She was so different compared to other girls.

And all of that, all of _her_, was his dilemma.

Best friends didn't think these things about each other, did they? He didn't think so. All he knew was that he felt something unexplainable whenever she was near, whenever he thought about her (which was more often than he'd like to admit), whenever she looked at him and smiled that bright smile of hers as if saying, "I'm right where I belong."

But here he was, standing in front of her apartment at two in the morning. The small trinket in his clenched, clammy hands seemed to be mocking him: _Seriously, you can't even give a boring ol' gift like me to your _best friend_? Lame! _

Heaving a frustrated sigh, he knew the object was right. It's not as if Lucy would reject the gift (she was too nice to say if she didn't like it), so what was he so worried about?

And so he stuffed the gift in his pocket and started climb the vines up to her window, thinking for a fleeting second before his mind went blank, _Do what you do best: don't think. _

He didn't bother knocking, instead just pushing the window up, taking his sandals off and climbing in. (_If she doesn't want me to come in then why doesn't she lock it?_)

Lucy's soft, fluffy (and magical, in his opinion) bed came in contact with the soles of his feet, immediately relaxing him. Her apartment smelled, well, like _her_; cherry blossoms, nutmeg and strawberry shampoo.

She wasn't in bed and from the angle of said bed he could tell she wasn't in the bathroom, either. She wasn't sitting at her desk fretting over her novel. The only place that was left was his favorite area (aside from her bed), the kitchen.

He was right. There she was, sitting at the breakfast bar with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. She was staring dazedly at something in front of her, as if deep in thought.

When he cleared his throat she nearly jumped out of her skin, making him want to laugh. He watched in amusement (_terror_) as she swung around in his direction with the intent of murder.

After she got in a few good (_painful_) Lucy Kick's, she finally put her hands on her hips and glared at him, although her cheeks were red and just as he expected she stammered, "D-don't scare me like that!"

That was his cue to grin and rub the back of his neck sheepishly while silently thinking about how cute she was.

But he wasn't thinking right now so forget about going on stage and reciting his lines and just _get to the fucking chase_.

"I think I love you, Lucy."

A quiet gasp spilled out of mouth and she covered it with her hands in shock. Her face burned and she looked ready to keel over. "W-what?" she choked.

Was that not the right thing to say? Shit, shit, shit. He didn't really know much about this "love" crap but maybe that was his mistake? Was saying he loved her too much? Not enough?

Not knowing what he should say and too embarrassed to really say anything at all, he stayed silent.

Lucy's eyes widened, seeing the sad and confused look on his face. She seemed to calm down a little and a soft smile graced her lips.

She stepped closer to him one step at a time until she was merely a few inches away. And then she wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him close.

"Natsu," she giggled, although there was something in her voice that irked him. "Natsu." A whisper.

She was scared.

Of _him_?

That thought snapped something inside of him and he pulled her so close that they both could barely breathe.

After a few minutes of awkward silence he finally found his voice, although it was weak and distant. The exact opposite of him. "I'm sorry for what I said. You know, earlier. I shouldn't have said it because I don't even really know the meaning of what I said and if it's what I'm feeling."

Lucy breathed out a shaky breath and pulled her head away from his shoulder to look at him in the eyes. Her face was flushed. "A-and what exactly are you... feeling?" she asked uncertainly, her blush broadening.

He shrugged, his own cheeks flushing slightly. "I don't know. All I _do _know is that I've never thought of anyone the way I think of you. You're just so... imperfectly perfect, y'know?"

She smiled, nodding her head. "Yeah, I do. And... Natsu... For the record, you don't have to be sorry. What you said wasn't wrong. I mean, I don't know anymore than you do whether or not you _love _me. But what I do know is that I don't think of anyone the way I think of you, either. So maybe you don't _love _me, but maybe you _like _me? As in, more than a friend?"

He tilted his head in confusion. "More than a friend?"

"You know when you see two people, um...—" She looked away, her face growing hotter if it were even humanly possible. "—...kissing? When people do that it usually means that they like somebody more than a friend, that they want to be their boyfriend or girlfriend, which means they want to be in a _relationship _and possibly get married one day."

He blinked. Two times. Three times.

And then all the sudden Lucy was up against the wall and he was kissing her.

It was weird because he didn't know what he was doing and just tried to do the same thing he'd seen random strangers on the street do but he didn't care because all that mattered was her and the way that her lips tasted and how her fingers curled around the material of his vest and the way her bangs brushed against his nose and how her lips were now smiling against his and—

But his train of thought was cut short when he found that he could no longer breathe. He reluctantly pulled away, immediately missing the way her body seemed to fit perfectly tucked into his.

The two breathed in heavily, never breaking eye contact.

"Does that mean I'm your boyfriend now?" he blurted.

A gorgeous smile lit up her entire face and she nodded eagerly. "Only if it makes me your girlfriend."

He grinned and kissed her again, this time slower, gentler. Neither of them were experienced so it was imperfectly perfect (better than Christmas in his opinion).

When they finally pulled away again he suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small gift fiddling with it in his hands. "I, um, actually came here to give you this... I hope you um, like it?" Ugh. He sounded so lame. So un..._him_.

Lucy thought it was cute.

She looked down in the palm of his hand and resisted the urge to burst out laughing, instead going for a thankful smile and wrapping her arms around his neck into a hug. "Thank you, Natsu. I love it. And so will Plue!"

The gift was a small keychain plushie of the Canis Minor Nicola: one that looked just like Plue.

"Thank you," she said again, setting the keychain on the kitchen countertop. She glanced at the clock and nearly did a double take. "Crap, it's already three o'clock! Don't we have to get up at six for an early mission?"

He groaned. "Yes," he said.

"Alright then, let's get to sleep," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him down the hallway.

After Lucy changed into her pajamas, she hopped in her bed, right beside him, and shut the lamp off. He wondered for a moment why she didn't ask him whether he wanted to stay or not, but he guessed it was because he often stayed there without being invited anyway.

She snuggled her back closer into his chest and he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her waist. Was he allowed to do that now that they were in a... what was the word she used again? _Relationship_? Yeah, that was it.

"You're fine, Natsu," she giggled sleepily. He hummed and slowly began to nod off.

That was until there was a loud shout from the other side of the bedroom.

"You looooooooooove her!"

Lucy screeched.

Needless to say Happy wasn't going to be sneaking up on them anytime soon.

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**~ツ~**

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**Ermaghersh this is my first FT story and I am so nervous! Please tell me I didn't fail, please! XD **

**but anyways HAPPY NALU WEEK! *bashes symbols* i will be posting one chapter everyday for each of the prompts: today was Gift, tomorrow is Vulnerable, day 3 is Ribbon, day 4 Promise, 5 is Dare (im so looking forward to that, omg!), 6 Effulgence, 7 Future, and as a bonus, day 8 High School. (all of these prompts are courteous of tumblr, so yay for the internet!) **

**On a side note I'd just like to say that each day is unrelated to the previous chapter. So tomorrow, _Vulnerable_, will be slightly similar to this only in Lucy's POV but it is _completely unrelated to this first one_. just thought id let you know :p **

**and if you read through all of that nonsense than youre awesome, thank you! **

**so sorry for any mistakes! feel free to point 'em out! **

**Thank you so much for reading and reviews would be very much appreciated. :3 **

~CeeCee~

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**DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing in this chapter. All rights reserved. (I've always wanted to say that LOL. But I don't think I did it right... oopsy)


	2. Vulnerable

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**NaLu Week: The Week of Love **

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Chapter 2:

_Vulnerable _

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Lucy smiled softly at the pink-haired—ehem, _salmon_—fire-mage snoring rather loudly beside her.

She should have been angry that he had, once again, snuck into her bed while she was sleeping. But, secretly (and she knew that she would _definitely _die right on the spot if she were ever to admit it out loud), she liked his presence beside her.

It felt so comforting, so safe. But mostly it felt _right. _Like he was supposed to be there, always looking out for her. Like he should be the only one to ever be this close to her in that kind of sense.

But it also made her feel extremely _vulnerable._ She could hardly concentrate with him so close and she found that she had to repeatedly remind herself to not focus on how his hand had somehow planted itself on her bare stomach and how his ankle was wrapped around hers and how he was close enough that his hair tickled her cheek and how his breath smelled like cinnamon and something that was undeniably _him_—

Lucy shook off her thoughts, deciding that she should try to get back to sleep. She couldn't keep staying up all night like this otherwise it'd take a toll on her body and she didn't want _that_.

So she shut her eyes and snuggled her back closer into Natsu's lean, firm chest. She felt herself blush at her actions as well as her previous thoughts. She grunted softly. _Why does he have to be so… I don't know_, she thought, _… Warm? Seriously, I don't even need the heater on when he's here. _

Tiny giggles snapped her out of her, once again, distracted thoughts. It sounded sleepy and she knew immediately it was Natsu. (Maybe it was the fact that she could feel his hot breath on her ear that gave it away or perhaps because they happened to be the only two there but details, details.)

Lucy furrowed her brow in confusion as he continued to laugh. Was he awake? She hadn't thought so.

"Natsu?" she asked quietly, slowly turning around to face said Dragon Slayer. This caused his hand that rested on her stomach to slide down to the small of her back, and she had to nearly force herself to not jump out of bed and out the window.

Timidly, she asked, "What's so funny?"

Ugh. Her voice sounded like the very definition of vulnerable: helpless, powerless, weak.

But he didn't answer. His eyes were closed, his face peaceful aside from the goofy smile plastered on his face.

_Is he _laughing _in his _sleep_? _she thought incredulously. And then a thought that nearly shocked her out of her skin came to mind: _How much more adorable can he get? _

Dear Mavis. Yes, she found herself thinking he was cute here and there, mostly when he smiled his signature grin or when he was sleeping or when he looked at her with those eyes or when he was fired up or—

_Anyways_, the point is, she thought about Natsu Dragneel more than she probably should. He was making her fall for him more and more by the day and, soon enough, she'd probably be completely and utterly powerless. It was stupid and very cliché and especially annoying, but she knew it was true.

And now with this new revelation, how could she survive? How could she handle him sleeping beside her any longer if he was going do _this_? Being all cute, laughing in his sleep (which was considerably—okay, a _lot_—better than snoring), his skin on her skin, his hot, _Natsu-ish _(the only way she could really describe it as being) breath on her face…

She knew she was on fire. She felt so embarrassed and vulnerable that it was ridiculous.

She sucked in a deep breath and began to turn around again so that she was no longer facing him when his arm tightened around her, pulling her closer. "_Hehehe_," Natsu snickered. "That Luce, such a riot," he mumbled so quietly that if she hadn't been frozen to the spot she probably wouldn't have heard.

_Is he dreaming about me? _she couldn't help but think. A small flutter began in her heart and traveled through her stomach, past her legs and down into her toes as he continued to giggle quietly.

Just great.

There was _no way _she would be falling asleep _anytime _soon.

"That's so true, Happy," Natsu continued to mumble. Now Lucy definitely knew he was sleeping, because Happy was staying the night with Lily and Gajeel.

"Heh, that's a great idea!" he whisper-shouted, another giggle spilling out of his mouth. "Let's ambush her while she's out shopping tomorrow. Being the weirdo Lucy is, she'll totally freak out! Heheheheh."

Lucy's face blanked and her eyes flashed. She _was _going shopping tomorrow… wait, could he be dreaming about a conversation he'd had earlier?

She suddenly felt all of the vulnerable feelings leave her body and a pit of anger seethe through her abdomen.

"Natsu…," she growled, a death glare that rivaled Erza's settling on her face. She slowly stood up beside the bed and turned.

And so she raised her foot, screeching, "LUCY ... KICK!"

"_Kkyaaa!_"

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**~ツ~**

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**sooooo yeeeeaaaahhhhhh. I hope that was okay! I know it was ridiculously short (PAINFULLY SHORT) but yea whatevs. XD I know that there were some similarities in this chapter to the last one but ive never been good at creativity so _sue me. _Actually, please dont. thatd be mean.**

**Also, thank you so much for all of your beautiful reviews! :3 AND WOW! So many favs and follows as well! THANK YOU! I am extremely grateful! **

**Tomorrow is "Ribbon"... yea, I still dont have it written out because i _still dont know what im going to do. _yeah, im totes a last-minute person. Yay me! **

**Again, thank you so much! You all are my lovely cupcake dawlings! c;**

~CeeCee~

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**DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing in this chapter. All rights reserved. (I've always wanted to say that LOL. But I don't think I did it right... oopsy)


	3. Ribbon

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**NaLu Week: The Week of Love**

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Chapter 3:

_Ribbon_

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"No, wait! Come back!" Lucy yelled as she ran the opposite direction of where they were supposed to be headed. "Stupid ribbon! Get back here this instant!"

Natsu giggled in amusement as the blonde ran around like a lunatic, chasing after the pink ribbon that the wind had oh-so-rudely decided to sweep away.

"Damn you! I knew I should have bought the purple one instead! This must be like the universe's way of saying that pink is _so_ not my color!"

Natsu frowned at that. He didn't exactly know why but it felt like an insult. Maybe it was because his hair (oh how much he absolutely hated to admit it and definitely would _never _outright say) was pink and Lucy thinking that pink wasn't her color was kind of like saying that _he_ wasn't her color. Or something.

Deciding that he was over-thinking things (which was always a bad idea, or so he was told), Natsu shook away his weird thoughts and decided to give Lucy a hand, as hilarious as it was to see her nearly tripping over people and said people giving her death glares in return.

He was about to ask Happy to use his Aera magic to simply fly up and catch the ribbon, but soon remembered a bit dejectedly that the blue Exceed had decided to stalk Carla for the day (those weren't his exact words but Natsu was pretty sure that was what he had meant).

So, basically, he was on his own.

Except he wasn't. He had Lucy, didn't he?

Yeah, he'd always have Luce. There wasn't a doubt about it.

With this new thought in mind, Natsu grinned and dashed after the blonde, ready to "save" her once again. Only this time he'd be saving her ribbon, not her, but it was practically the same thing!

Speaking of her ribbon… the wind was about to carry it to the other side of the river canal! Shit. Crap. Shit. Okay. Pull it together, Natsu. Go and _save her fucking ribbon_! Hell yeah!

And so, being the very smart guy he was (or that he'd like to _think _he was), he did what any other person would do (he hoped) and jumped into the air, catching the ribbon.

All the while landing into the freezing-ass water.

He, smartly, held his breath and swam up to the surface, gasping for air when he finally broke through the water.

"N-Natsu!" he heard Lucy cry out in utter shock. "What did you do that for?!"

After rubbing the water droplets away from his eyes he glanced up at her, standing on the edge of the canal, and pouted. "You didn't want your ribbon to blow away, did you? So I got it before it could!"

A few moments of silence passed, the two staring at each other intently (or in Natsu's case just waiting for her to respond). Finally, a huge smile lit up Lucy's face (one that honestly freaked him out) and her cheeks tinged a light hue of pink.

But it didn't last long. "Wait, Natsu, you should really get out of there before you catch a cold! The water is absolutely freezing this time of year!"

Natsu sweat dropped. "Yeah, I noticed." Another thought that kind of confused him crossed his mind. _I wouldn't mind being sick though because you always take good care of me. _

What was _that_ all about? Yeah, Lucy did have a knack for being a great nurse (even though she yelled a lot), but what did that have to do with anything?

He once again shrugged it off. He always thought weird things around Lucy (the girl was pretty weird herself, as he was pretty sure he'd mentioned several times before), so what did it matter?

"Here, I'll help you up," her voice cut through his thoughts, and he blinked a few times at her outstretched hands. He seriously needed to stop thinking so much: it hurt his head like hell.

Natsu grinned up at her, putting his hands in hers, and tried to make himself a little lighter so she could pull him up.

But what happened next was the exact opposite of his intentions.

Instead of her pulling him up, he pulled her down.

There was a short yelp of "eeep!" before a wave of water hit him smack in the face.

Shit. Crap. Shit. Okay. Swim away, Natsu. Swim away! Do you _want _to be Lucy-Kicked into the next dimension? Didn't think so.

He tried. He really, really tried. But Lucy was ferocious. Like… like a dragon. Yeah, a blonde, malicious, scary, Natsu-eating dragon.

Said Natsu-eating dragon latched onto his arm, pulling herself up until her head was out of the water, and wasted no time in giving him a menacing death glare.

"Idiot!" she shrieked, chopping him on the head instead of Lucy-Kicking him like he had expected her to.

He cast his eyes downward in shame for all of three seconds before he suddenly remembered: "Oh yeah! Here's your ribbon, Luce!"

Lucy still looked pissed, but after staring at him for a few more (unsettling) seconds, she seemed to relax. "Thank you," she said earnestly. "Well, we should get out of here and head back to my apartment so we can change and warm up. We should probably take some cold medicine as well, because I have the feeling that we're gonna get si—Natsu! What are you—...doing?"

Natsu wasn't listening to a word she said. He was too concentrated on trying to figure out how to tie this damn thing in her hair. Seriously, how did she do this so often? It was like when he was first learning to tie his shoes—it got all knotted up and and tangled around his fingers. Maybe the problem was because her hair was sopping wet but _still_. He wanted to see how she would look with the pink one because he had a hunch that it'd be good.

_Pretend it's fire_, he told himself. _Pretend that the ribbon is fire and your fingers are directing it to which direction it should go and what shape it should form_.

It took him a few tries, but finally, _finally_, he made it into the perfect bow. (Well, not really _perfect _because the left side was shorter than the right but close enough.)

He grinned and swam back a couple feet to admire his work in triumph.

But Lucy's face was really red and he didn't understand why. Was she mad at him for messing with her ribbon and her hair? Shit. Crap. Shit. Okay. Just ask her what's wrong, Natsu.

"Uh… are you okay, Luce?"

She averted her eyes.

Silence.

And then: "Yeah… I'm great." She beamed up at him, taking his hand and pulling him towards the edge of the canal. "C'mon, let's go home."

She didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

**ツ**

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Just as Lucy had predicted, the two were down with nasty colds the next morning.

But it was okay, because being sick together wasn't so bad.

Especially since her pink ribbon matched his hair, and just looking at it made him feel better.

Or maybe it was _her_.

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**~ツ~**

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**hey guys so sorry this chapter is late! It took me a while to sit here and write and not think about yesterday. :p **

**Speaking of yesterday, thank you so much for all of your support! Honestly I'm still really shaken up. We got a rental car today (our truck is too wrecked to drive) and I was so terrified to get in it and go somewhere. But I kept thinking about you guys and your beautifulness and also that if I didn't get in the car now then I never would. XD So thank you so much, I appreciate you all so much! **

**Tell me what you thought about this chapter and if it was okay considering I wrote it in like two hours and didn't have it planned out even a tiny bit. :p **

**Again, thank you! I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have fanfiction and its lovely and supportive people. :3 **

~CeeCee~

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**DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing in this chapter. All rights reserved. (I've always wanted to say that LOL. But I don't think I did it right... oopsy)


	4. Promise

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**NaLu Week: The Week of Love**

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Chapter 4:

_Promise_

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She was sitting in it. It was on her clothes. All over her hands. In her mouth. She could taste it—the heavy metallic of his blood. She could smell it. It was the only thing she _could _smell. It was the only thing she could see, too.

And the only thing she could hear was the echo of Happy's sobs in the dense forest.

And the laughter. The overjoyed, ecstatic, gleeful laughter of the man that did this to him—to _Natsu_.

"Shut up," she whispered as the first of her tears rolled down her cheeks.

She looked at him, no matter how many times she willed herself not to. She looked at his bloodied, bruised, beautiful face. She looked at his bare, unmoving chest—how his lovely six-pack was so bloody that all she could see were the six bumps of each ab. She looked at the large, gaping wounds in his shoulders and abdomen. She looked at his adorable hair—how the blood mingled with the pink and created a shade of magenta.

"Shut up," she said, louder.

The man only laughed harder at the utterly weak sound that was her voice.

She looked at him again. She knew he was dead. They both knew. All three of them did. He'd been unconscious, unmoving, un_breathing_ for what seemed like forever to her but she knew that it'd been several minutes.

He was gone.

And he wasn't coming back.

"I said _shut up_!" she screamed so loud that her voice nearly failed her. But she didn't care. All she wanted to do was scream, to yell, to cry, to do anything but sit there and look at him in that state.

She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand the fact that, for once, he had _lost_ a fight. Why wasn't he bouncing back, telling her that it'd be alright and that he'd burn this guy to a crisp? Why wasn't he promising to bring them back home safe and sound to the guild, to their nakama?

But most of all why couldn't have _she_ protected _him _for once? She was so useless—so fucking useless. She couldn't expect him to save her all of the time, she knew that. Only she never thought something like _this _would happen. It was all her fault that he was dead—_all her motherfucking fault_.

"Oh, yeah? And whatcha gonna do 'bout it, blondie?" the man chuckled menacingly, his grin wide and downright evil.

She bit back a sob that rattled her ribcage, her heart, her very being. She shuttered so hard that she fell to her knees, her hands clenching the bloody dirt on the ground so tightly that a small _pop _from one of her knuckles sounded.

But she didn't care.

The tears wouldn't stop falling. She watched through her blurred vision as they dripped off her nose and into the soil, where they disappeared. Maybe each tear was a piece of her heart.

Because that was disappearing, too.

"I _said_ whatcha gonna do 'bout it? Answer me, you little bitch!"

She was flung face-first into the ground as a swift kick landed on her back. She didn't move. She stayed there, breathing in Natsu's blood and her tears and the moist dirt. She didn't _care_.

Freezing, rough, calloused hands—nothing like Natsu's warm, strong, comforting hands—picked her up by her hair, dragging her until she was face-to-face with the man.

He was so _ugly_. So _horrible_. So _evil_.

She didn't flinch when he slapped her backhandedly. "Answer me or I'll kill you right here, right now, you fucking slut."

She wanted to say "go ahead." Because, honestly, death didn't sound too bad right now.

But she knew that Natsu wouldn't want that for her.

_Natsu_. Mavis, he was perfect in every single way possible. He was so kind, so loving, so protective, so warm, so inviting, so forgiving, so random, so everything that she wished she could be.

He _was_.

And he still would be if it weren't for this _son of a bitch_.

"..._I'm going to kill you_."

Silence. All that could be heard now was the rustling of the animals that lived somewhere deep into the forest, Happy's uncontrollable sobs, and the man's heavy, furious breathing. She didn't want to listen anymore.

She wanted to fight. She wanted to do something right for _once_. She wanted to not be such a fucking weakling. She wanted to become stronger—something she should have done a long time ago. She wanted to kill this horrible, horrible man, and then kill herself.

She wanted to live, though. She wanted to live for Natsu.

Because he would do the same for her.

"You think you're all that, dontcha, whore? Well news flash: the world doesn't revolve around skanks like you." A kick struck her stomach. She resisted the urge to cough up blood, swallowing it down.

Another punch. Kick. Slap.

She could feel the shock that radiated off of him when she caught the next punch. She didn't know what she was doing. She barely knew how to fight.

Which was exactly why, this time, she would leave her Spirits out of this.

This was her fight.

And so before he could recover she twisted his wrist as far as she could, not stopping until she heard a sickening crack.

"Fucking shit!" the man howled, jumping back and cradling his now broken wrist with his other hand. "You're gonna pay for that, you piece of ugly trash!"

She didn't care.

She.

Didn't.

_Care_.

He came at her again, his lone, unbroken wrist raised.

She ducked merely inches before his fist could come in contact with her eye. Using the ground as leverage, she planted her hands down firmly and swung her legs under behind the man's, effectively tripping him.

Before he could get back up, she jumped forward with all of the strength she could manage and kicked him square in the jaw.

He wasted no time in grabbing her ankle and twisted it, just like she had done to his wrist. She couldn't hold back the yowl of pain. She tried to turn her body the same way he was directing her ankle to relieve the pressure, but ultimately failed.

What she was about to do next was risky, really risky, but it was the only thing that popped into her mind.

So she closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself. And then she lifted up the foot that was keeping her upright off of the ground, spinning her whole body around until the pressure was gone from her ankle.

She landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her. But she couldn't waste even a second in trying to catch her breath because the man was about to twist her ankle the other way, she knew.

She used her free foot to kick at his hand. She kicked as hard as she could, over and over. She wouldn't stop until he let go. She _couldn't_ stop.

She didn't _want _to stop.

He finally let go when his hand was bruised and his knuckles were covered in blood.

She stood up as fast as she could and jumped back several feet, her ankle writhing with agitation. She didn't think it was broken, but it was at the very least sprained.

"You're persistent," the man groaned, rolling to his feet and glaring at her so harshly she wanted to shiver in her spot. "It's disgusting."

She wouldn't let him get to her. She wouldn't listen to his nonsense: none of it was true.

She hoped it wasn't.

Before she could even blink he was in front of her, hands glowing a dark, cloudy black-blue and then she was on the ground again, clutching her stomach as the dark magic seeped through her stomach.

"I'm not going easy on you anymore, bitch," he whispered menacingly in her ear, and this time she couldn't suppress the shudder that wracked through her.

A kick that was definitely ten times harder than the ones before landed on her hip. The blue magic radiated off of his body in such strong waves that it terrified her.

So this was Fairy Slaying magic. The name was quite ironic, really. She was a fairy. Of Fairy Tail. And his magic slayed fairies. Oh, the irony.

She couldn't help the giggles that spilled out of her mouth. Her humorless, painful laughter was all she could hear now.

"Hahahaha!" she squeaked breathlessly. Fresh, hot tears leaked from her eyes. "Hah, you're a _Fairy Slayer_. And I'm in the guild _Fairy Tail_. Hahaha! And, and—Natsu's _dead_. You _killed _him. Haha!"

"Lucy…" Happy cried out weakly, his wide, watery eyes staring at her with pity, with desperation, with overwhelming sadness. "Please…"

The man standing above her grinned wickedly. "Yep. And now, I'm gonna kill _you_."

In that moment, she didn't care anymore.

And then the pain was just… gone.

**ツ**

* * *

She bolted upright. Her entire body was covered in sweat—or maybe it was blood? No. She was in her bed. Not the forest.

And then she remembered.

"Natsu?" she called desperately, patting the empty bed beside her just to be sure that he really was there. But he wasn't. Why couldn't she find him?

Because he was at his house. He was, wasn't he?

Didn't he know that you should never do this to a girl? It was probably why she had such a horrible, terrifying nightmare—because for the first time in a whole month he was sleeping in his _own _bed instead of _hers_.

She didn't even realize how much she depended on him sleeping beside her until now. How lonely it was when he wasn't there.

She should have known, though. There was no such thing as a "Fairy Slayer." And it was impossible for Natsu to lose a fight, let alone _die_ during one. He would never leave her like that.

Would he?

And before she knew it she was barging through his front door. "Natsu!" she cried. "Natsu…"

She couldn't even see through her blurred vision anymore. Everything was dark, and she desperately, _desperately _needed to see him. She needed to see his adorable pink hair—only this time without all of the blood. She needed to see that he was okay—not bleeding to death or worse _actually dead_.

"Lucy?" she finally heard his sleepy voice from across the room, and she felt everything inside of her burst. He was _okay_. He was _alive_. "Luce, what's wrong?! _Why are you crying_?"

And then Natsu's warm, strong, comforting hands were wiping away her tears and all she could think was—

"Promise me," she cried, falling into his arms and burying her face into his shoulder. "Promise me you won't ever leave me. Please. Promise me."

It was quiet for a while, almost to the point where she thought he wouldn't answer.

"I won't ever leave you. I _promise_, Lucy," his voice cut through the unbearable silence. "Why would you ever think I'd leave you? You're my family, my _nakama_, and I could never dream in a million years of leaving you behind. _Never_."

She sniffled, pulling away to look at him. She inspected his face for any cuts or bruises but nothing. Just him.

Because she _did _care.

And that was all she needed.

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

* * *

**~ツ~**

* * *

**so yeah thats it. this chapter had more of a darker element, and I have to say that i think this is my favorite one so far (aside from the next chapter: oh my gosh im having a field day writing that one). I'm not sure about the ending though. tell me your thoughts. **

**thank you, my lovely cupcake dawlings. :3 Review! **

~CeeCee~

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing in this chapter. All rights reserved. (I've always wanted to say that LOL. But I don't think I did it right... oopsy)


	5. Dare

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**NaLu Week: The Week of Love **

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Chapter 5:

_Dare_

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Erza was certainly no stranger to the game of Truth or Dare. In fact, a few years back she was dubbed the "Daring Titania" by her guildmates; a title in which she took pride in.

You see, Erza was no scaredy-cat when it came to dares. She'd do any dare without complaint (unless it had something to do with physically harming herself or others), and in return you could expect her to come at you with twice the force.

Among many things, Erza had a knack for choosing just the right questions. She knew no one would refuse to answer a truth (for fear of getting beaten to a pulp, no doubt), therefore she could play any card she wanted and hopefully confirm questions that had been plaguing her mind.

And so here she was now, sitting on the floor in the center of the guild. A large circle of people accompanied her, nearly half the guild. As the last few that decided (well, more like threatened by Erza) to join in sat down, and Erza took in a deep breath, her voice loud and clear.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's get started. Just in case some of you have forgotten, I will now present the rules," she said, clearing her throat and pulling out a piece of paper with the rules written in strawberry-colored ink (not that she needed it; she'd known the rules by heart since she was fourteen).

"Now don't be mistaken: we are not playing the measly child's version. This is a fully-equipped grown-up game. It's either do or die." (Everyone broke into cold sweats.) "Now, as for the actual rules… I will be starting first. I'll choose a random person in the room and ask them, 'Truth or Dare?' If said person picks truth, they _must _answer any question truthfully no matter how embarrassing, and if I catch any of you lying, well, you don't want to know." She glared, and several people—mostly males—gulped.

"And if said person picks dare, then you have to perform any act that the questioner requests unless it is life-threatening or harmful to others—emotionally or physically. If you refuse to perform the dare then you will be forced into one of the following: Truth, Double Dare, Kiss, or Torture.

"I've already explained truths, so let's move on. A double dare is one of two things: a dare performed with a second person, or a dare with double the amount of, well, _dare_, meaning more risky.

"'Kiss' requires you to kiss either someone of the asker's choice (as part of the dare), or of your own choice. You may kiss somebody anywhere on the body, aside from _restricted areas_," she grit through her teeth, staring pointedly at all of the men in the room.

"And, lastly, my favorite aside from the double dares, 'Torture.' The torture option is also one of two things: tickle torture or truth torture. Tickle torture is where the entire group playing attacks you with tickles for a maximum of two minutes, while truth torture is ten times worse than regular truth because you'll be required to answer one question truthfully by each player.

"And that about sums it up. Oh, also, you may not choose truth more than twice in a row, and dares cannot be repeated," she finished. "Any questions?"

The guild was deathly silent. Everybody suddenly regretted having joined. But, no, they couldn't turn back now.

Erza smiled. An evil, down-right mischievous one. "Alright! So, I'll just close my eyes and randomly point at one of you." She closed her eyes, lifted her hand and swung her pointer finger back and forth before suddenly stopping. She opened her eyes and found herself pointing at a horrified-looking Levy.

"Poor Levy," Jet whispered to Droy.

"No kidding."

Erza smirked. "Okay, Levy. Truth or Dare?"

Levy blinked. She looked ready to bolt. "U-um… Truth?"

Several people groaned.

"I have the perfect question, then," said Erza, tapping her chin. Everyone waited. "What's your favorite book?"

And so everyone fell on their faces and/or sweatdropped. They all thought something along the lines of, _Seriously? _That's _your so-called "perfect question"? _

Levy looked relieved, but soon realized her dilemma. "You want me to choose _one _book?! How am I supposed to do _that_?"

Erza shrugged. "Just do it. I forgot to mention another thing in the rules: you must answer truths within one minute or there will be a very severe _punishment_."

Levy gulped. "Um… I-I guess The Fault In Our Stars?"

Erza nodded. "Okay. Now, it's your turn. Pick whoever you like."

People seemed to relax. If sweet little Levy was going next, then they had nothing to worry about. Or so they thought.

"I choose Jet!"

Jet's eyes filled with hearts and he turned to Levy. "I'd do anything for you, Levy! So, I'll pick dare!"

Levy smiled, her cheeks flushing at what she was about to say. "Okay then! I dare you to… lick Droy's butt?"

Jet's love-struck face plummeted, his jaw dropping and the hearts in his eyes shattering. Several people around the guild gasped, but most started laughing their asses off. Gajeel was especially making a riot.

(_Slam. Bash. Laugh. _"Geehee, who knew Shrimp could be so cruel?" _Laugh. Slam. _"Good one!" _Laugh_.)

Erza positively beamed, impressed. "Nice choice, Levy. I think I respect you a little more now."

Jet started crying, but nonetheless turned the opposite direction of Levy, facing Droy. Said food-lover looked even more traumatized than Jet as he stood up.

Jet suddenly turned green. "Wait, I don't have to lick his _bare _butt, do I?!"

Levy's pink face turned red. "N-no!"

Jet breathed a sigh of relief and decided to be quick. Oh Mavis, this would come back to haunt him.

And so he shut his eyes tight, and licked Droy's butt - well, more like the material of his shorts.

The room erupted with laughter. A few flashes of a camera went off.

Jet huffed, his beet-red face twisting into a scowl. "Well, it's my turn now." His aura turned dark and gloomy as he gazed around for his victim. A head of pink hair caught his eye, and he decided. He had a bone to pick with—"Natsu."

Natsu immediately stopped in his fit of laughter. He looked over at Jet, another round of giggles threatening to take over again, and smirked. "Bring it on!"

"Alright then, Truth or Dare?" Jet rose his eyebrows in question. A silent challenge.

"Dare, duh," Natsu scoffed. "I ain't no wuss."

Jet's eyes flitted around the guild as he thought up a good dare. When his gaze landed on a certain blonde to the left of Natsu, he grinned.

"I dare you to give Lucy a hickey."

"EHHHHHH?!" Lucy screeched, putting her hands on her neck protectively.

Everyone laughed at her expense.

"Aw c'mon, Lucy!" encouragingly called Levy.

Lucy whipped towards the petite bluenette. "How would you feel if _you _were _forced _to get a hickey by _Gajeel_?" she snapped, although there was a hint of suggestion underneath the many layers of horror.

Said bluenette turned fifty shades of pink and turned the other direction, huffing. Gajeel winked at her. Now she was sixty shades of _red_.

Natsu laughed. "That's it? Dude, piece of cake!"

_Mmm… cake…_, Erza couldn't help but think.

Jet smirked. "We'll see about that."

Natsu turned to Lucy, an unsettling—_evil—_look in his fire-eyes. But, suddenly, he stopped, a look of confusion washing over him. "Wait, what _is _a hickey, anyway?"

Lucy looked incredibly relieved.

But Jet wasn't about to give up that easily. "It's easy," he said, and Natsu turned to him for guidance.

Erza suddenly got the feeling that this was going to be _good_.

"Basically you just tilt her head back, not too far, and then you kiss her neck. But to make it a _hickey _you have to suck on her neck like—uh… a vampire. But don't bite it, only nip, 'cause biting can hurt like hell."

Natsu, looking extremely serious, nodded. "Right." He turned back to Lucy. "Okay then, c'mere, Luce!"

Lucy screeched, scrambling to her feet. "No freakin' way! Get back! Shoo! Bad Dragon Slayer! Bad!"

Natsu whined, casting his eyes down like a puppy who had just been… well, scolded.

Erza cupped her chin with her hand, staring at the two. She shook her head. This simply wouldn't do.

"Lucy," she said, catching the blonde's attention. "I have a proposition for you. If you let Natsu give you a hickey, then I won't…" _Gulp. Shiver. _"...eat strawberry cake for…" _Sniff._ "...three hours."

Lucy sweat dropped. She was tempted to yell, but not wanting to risk angering Erza, she said calmly, "And what good is that going to do me?"

The guild was, once again, roaring with laughter.

Elfman slammed his fist onto the guild floor repeatedly. "Hickeys are a MAN!"

Mirajane giggled. "Come on, Lucy, it'll be fun. You know you want to."

Lisanna smirked, cocking her head to the side at the two slyly. "There's nothing to worry about, Lucy, promise! Natsu would never hurt you, and hickeys actually feel good."

Elfman's eyes—and nearly half of the other player's—widened in shock. "Hickeys may be a MAN, but not when little sisters' are getting them! That is so NOT a MAN!"

Lucy seemed to relax slightly. "Well… No, no, no. I can't! Especially with everyone watching…"

Jet grinned. "You can do it privately, if you like. All I need is proof that he actually did it, and your neck will suffice."

Natsu jutted his bottom lip out, mock pouting. "Please, Lucy? I can't turn down a dare! That'd be like turning down a fight, and you know I could never, ever do that!"

Lucy sighed. "Natsu, this is something… hickeys are things that… people who are, um, _romantically _involved do."

"We're romantically involved, aren't we?"

Everyone fell over in shock, including Erza and especially Lucy.

"N-no! We're _best friends_, Natsu. That's not the same thing as being 'romantically involved.'" Lucy's face was like a freshly ripe tomato.

Natsu huffed. "Whatever. Let's just get it over with, Luce!" He grinned.

Lucy's insides fluttered, a shiver running down her spine. "I-I…" _Gulp_. "... Fine." Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

"Wahoo!" Natsu cheered, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards some random closet that half of them never even knew was there. He opened the door and slammed it behind them. "Okay, so how does this work again…?"

**ツ**

* * *

Erza snickered as Jet held up the video camera to the door, where, unbeknownst to both Natsu and Lucy, there was a small window to look through.

Everybody in the room, all squished together to try and either look through the window or at the camera, watched as Natsu leaned in close.

"Oh my gosh, he's actually going to do it!" Mirajane squealed. Everyone shushed her.

And, to everyone's surprise, he actually did.

Natsu's mouth was practically glued to Lucy's neck, both of their eyes closed. They all watched as he gently bit, then sucked on the sliver of skin just above Lucy's collarbone.

And there was moaning.

Erza smiled triumphantly.

Truth or Dare was the _best. Game. Ever._

* * *

**~ツ~**

* * *

**haha i had fun with this. :p though, to be honest, im seriously thinking about doing a bonus part two, which explains why i ended it where i did. tell me if you think i should, please. :) **

**thank you, my lovely cupcake dawlings! (im gonna start calling you all that for forever :3) **

~CeeCee~

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing in this chapter. All rights reserved. (I've always wanted to say that LOL. But I don't think I did it right... oopsy)


	6. Effulgence

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**NaLu Week: The Week of Love**

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Chapter 6:

_Effulgence_

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_Effulgence: Brightness taken to the extreme or a brilliant light radiating from something. You may be dazzled by it, stunned by it, or even overcome by it. Usually used to refer to the sun or some other mega-star, effulgence can also be used more figuratively._

"Eff—...whaa?" Natsu mumbled. "And what's a fig..erl...ty? No, that can't be right."

There was a light, breezy giggle that emanated from over his shoulder. He turned, nearly bumping his head into the source of the giggle.

"Oh, hey, Luce," he said, planting a short kiss on her cheek before turning back to the book he was holding. He was a little surprised with himself for what he just did—granted he was allowed to, considering that he and Lucy were, uh… dating? Yeah, that was the word. But they hadn't been for very long so it was weird that he would so something like that, but he found that he liked it, really liked it, so he brushed it off.

He could practically _hear_ the huge, bright grin spread across Lucy's face. He felt her arms snake around his midsection and her chin planted itself on his shoulder. "What'cha doing?" she asked, her breath tickling his ear.

He still wasn't used to this…dating stuff. Yeah, what she was doing felt nice, really nice, actually, but it was still strange and foreign to him. You couldn't do this stuff if you weren't dating? Because he could recall several instances where he or she had done something similar to this, and it had been way before they started, uh, dating.

When he realized that he hadn't answered her yet, he shrugged, causing her lips to bump into his ear, as if kissing it, by, well, accident, and then she giggled as his face flushed slightly. "Um… Gramps said that if I wanted to do something besides, uh, nothing, then I should read a whatever-you-call-this-thing-here—" He pointed to the huge book in front of him. "—and learn a thing or two."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "You_ could_ stand to learn a thing or two," she teased, disentangling herself from him and plopping into the chair beside him.

He snorted. "Meanie," he whined. "And I thought you were different."

Lucy put a hand over her heart, looking offended. "And I thought _you_ were different."

He frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. I was only kidding…"

A moment later she burst out laughing, a dazzling sound to his ears. "I was only pulling your leg, Natsu. No need to be so serious."

"But you didn't even touch my leg," he said, not understanding.

Lucy looked as if she wanted to explode with laughter. "It's a figure of speech. And a figure of speech is—you know what? Nevermind. Just keep reading."

He shrugged. "Can you tell me how to say these two words? This first one obviously means this right here," he said, pointing to the paragraph, "but I don't know what that last word is. What's a fig-uhr-tly? Or something."

She smiled softly, placing one of her hands over his and used the other to point to the first word. "Effulgence. You pronounce it like eh-full-jen-ce. And this last word here, figuratively: fig-your-uh-tiv-lee. It's kind of like what I was just talking about a minute ago—about the 'figures of speech.' When I said that I was pulling your leg, I obviously wasn't _physically _pulling your leg, but I was trying to get you worked up as if I _were_ pulling your leg. Get it?"

He contemplated it for a while. A long, long while. Two and a half seconds to be exact. "Nope. Don't have a clue what you mean."

Lucy sighed, shifting in her seat so that her leg was pressed up against his and her arm was grazing his elbow as she leaned forward, pointing at the whatever-you-call-this-thing-here.

Why couldn't he get used to the touching? It was like every time she even laid a finger on him his insides would flutter—just like when he ate fire. Only the feeling with her was amplified and he'd never felt anything like it before.

Her voice brought him back to reality. "It says here, '_Usually used to refer to the sun or some other mega-star, effulgence can also be used more figuratively._' So what it's saying is that while it's usually referred to something bright like the sun, it could also be described as an animal or person's personality. Bright, dazzling, stunning, etcetera. Does that make more sense?"

He blinked. Once. Twice. This sounded kind of familiar…

And before he could even register what he was saying he was suddenly telling her: "It sounds like you."

Lucy's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose. But after a moment she had a look on her face that clearly said, _Go on. _

"Well, I mean...," he paused, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as a light blush spread to his cheeks. "'_You may be dazzled by it, stunned by it, or even overcome by it._' … When I think about it, that's how I feel about you." He looked away, embarrassed.

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see her face light up with her stunning, dazzling smile once again. She slowly stepped closer to him and before he knew it she was sitting sideways on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck and her nose was grazing his while her eyes were looking directly into his and were full of happiness and something that could only be defined as _Lucy_. He didn't need any whatever-you-call-this-thing-here to tell him that.

She pressed her lips gently to his, only pulling away once to murmur, "I love you too, Natsu." And then all he coul see, smell, taste, and _feel_ was her.

From now on the word "effulgence" would only apply to her because she was brighter than the sun; his mega-star.

Only his.

* * *

**~ツ~**

* * *

**yes i know im a horrible horrible horrible person. i was supposed to be updating this for the past 4 days and i am just so sorry. ive been busy and have had a lot on my mind but i know thats no excuse. please dont hate me. :-&**

**i seriously wouldnt blame you if you dont review, although itd still be greatly appreciated... xS**

~CeeCee~

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing in this chapter. All rights reserved. (I've always wanted to say that LOL. But I don't think I did it right... oopsy)


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